Fourteen days ago (yes, 14) my neighbor accidentally cut our phone and internet line while replacing the fence between our properties. It took ten days for the phone company to actually send a tech out to repair the damage. Only Verizon forgot to tell her that the LINE HAD BEEN CUT. So, she arrived unprepared for the task, but managed to rig a patch after telling us that our entire line would have to be replaced. That will involve ripping up our yard and digging a new trench.

So, that’s what’s been going on. Sometimes, I think weird stuff happens to us. Oh, and all this is on top of an $8,000 chimney repair.

But, as grandma used to say, we have our health, food on the table, and a roof over our heads. Hallelujah!

Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

I’m out of town looking after my octogenarian auntie, and I won’t be back to baking for TWD until the first Tuesday in August. I have a couple posts going up in the meantime, so this blog won’t sit idle.

As for the exciting baking news . . . I’m going to King Arthur Flour in Vermont for a one week bread baking course! Whoopee! I can hardly wait! I will, of course, blog all about it.

Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

I’m not quite sure what’s going on, but I wrote a bunch of posts that were supposed to go up while I was traveling. So, I got home, turned on the computer, checked the blog, and found . . . nothing. So, I’m here, I’m alive, and I’m experiencing technical difficulties.

Posts should be going up soon as I figure out what I’m doing wrong! Photo above are Gus and Daisy, my little Cavaliers, begging for popcorn, which they are crazy about.

Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

A new bill in the state Assembly would ruin restaurant food and baked goods as we know them.

In a deeply misguided gesture that is also an abuse of the legislative process, a New York City Assemblyman is pushing a nanny-state bill that would ban the use of all forms of salt in the preparation and cooking of all restaurant food.

Read the whole thing.

Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Most winters, the DC area gets about 6-7 inches of snow, with an “average” of 15. Total. So far this year, we have over 50 inches, with 90 inches in some areas. In that context, a storm that drops 3 inches usually is a big deal. To show you how we are adapting, a new storm is expected to deposit a “mere” 5 inches on Monday.

The road leading up to my house re-defines the word “plowed.” Some state rep in Richmond is going to be hearing from me (in Virginia, the state is responsible for all road plowing).